John Legend urges people to get COVID-19 vaccine: ‘This is our shot’

John Legend is using his voice to raise awareness around coronavirus encouraging people to get vaccinated.

The famed singer-songwriter said vaccines instill a sense of hope amid the virus outbreak.

Speaking with PEOPLE about his partnership with Walgreens and its This Is Our Shot campaign, Legend said, “I am so encouraged by the availability of the vaccine as a way of preventing the spread of this virus that has wreaked so much devastation and destruction around the world.”

“Walgreens has [vaccines] available. They’re ready to take people to sign up, and I want to spread the word because the virus has separated us way more than we ever wanted to be. This is our shot of getting out of this situation .. .getting to immunity for ourselves and our families and our community so that we can get back together again,” he continued.

By getting the vaccine himself, Legend said he wanted to lead by example.

“Hopefully, we’re able to spread the message through all forms of media so that people take a moment to think about it, and hopefully what it will do is encourage them to talk to experts,” said the singing icon.

“I’m not an expert. I’m just an ordinary citizen who’s taking the vaccine myself, but I’m someone they know. Hopefully I can encourage them to go talk to their pharmacist or go talk to their doctor,” he went on. “The consensus of the entire medical community is how important these vaccines are for getting back to normal, to stopping the spread of the virus, and the science and the results of the testing are abundantly clear.”